Aclara Resources (TSX: ARA) shares surged on Tuesday after the rare earths developer filed a new environmental impact assessment for its Penco module project in Concepción, Chile, which it believes would satisfy the relevant public agencies and local communities.
Located in the Bio-Bio region of Chile, the Penco module covers a 6 sq. km. area hosting an ionic clay deposit rich in heavy rare earths, with measured and indicated resources totalling 27.5 million tonnes grading 2,292 parts per million total rare earth oxides (TREO), for 62,900 tonnes of contained TREO.
The previous EIA for Penco was knocked back by Chile’s environmental agency after it was revealed that the project area contains a vulnerable native species of trees known as “naranjillo” — which the assessment did not account for.
Aclara has since revised its permitting strategy to address those concerns without substantially impacting the project’s overall development timeline. In that regard, it decided to “split” the project by submitting two separate EIAs that collectively cover the full life of the project.
The actual EIA covers approximately the first six years of the project and will now encompass three extraction zones (Victoria Norte, Luna and Maite), one deposition zone (Neptuno) and the anticipated production facilities of the project. The “new” project excludes the Jupiter deposition zone and modifies other components to avoid the areas where the naranjillo trees were found.
As part of the project redesign, Aclara has also launched a reforestation program that aims to donate approximately 8,000 naranjillo trees, followed by other species such as pitao and queule trees, in the Bio-Bio region and other areas in Chile.
“The EIA presents a smaller but more robust project that maintains the positive aspects of the previous EIA such as a fully recycled water source, revegetation with native species and the generation of over 2,000 direct and indirect jobs,” said Aclara’s EVP Jose Augusto Palma in a news release.
With the modifications, the project is still expected to cover the payback period of its initial capex, Aclara noted.
The company expects that the EIA will be subject to an evaluation period of approximately 18 months. The study was also reviewed by CAP SA, its new strategic partner in Chile who is expecting to invest US$80 million into the project.
A second EIA will be prepared once the company is ready to expand its production to zones not covered by the current EIA application (i.e., Victoria Sur, Alexandra Oriente and Alexandra Poniente) based on the availability of new deposition zone(s). It will concurrently submit a permit application to reactivate the Jupiter deposition zone as well as evaluate potential for purposes of the second EIA.
As part of the second EIA, the company anticipates incorporating an increase to the future production plant’s throughput capacity, the feasibility of which will be evaluated at a conceptual level in 2024, Aclara said.
Shares in Aclara Resources were up 5.5% at C$0.57 apiece by 1:00 p.m. ET, giving the company a market capitalization of C$94.8 million ($68.9 million).
Source: MINING.COM – Read More
